View From
The Middle

By Charles Rogers

Those Flags Draw Some Friendly (And Unfriendly) Fire

Got some letters and lots and lots of phone calls regarding my tirade about flying-and-not-flying the American Flag on holidays. Some calls were good; some calls were bad. I suppose it all has to do with the point of view of the writer/caller.

In case you didn’t read the column (which, incidentally, is an opinion, after all), it ran in the July 5th issue, a day after Independence Day, and mildly took to task those whose houses did not display the flag on our most cherished patriotic holidays.

I cited Assemblyman Frank Seddio for giving a pat on the back in a letter to many of those he saw flying the flag. Frankly, I praised him for his gesture, as I praised home owner Tom Fiorenze and others who displayed the Stars and Stripes.

Well, you might have thought I’d thrown a little old lady off Canarsie Pier! The phone calls came from all directions, mostly of a defensive nature, stating I was wrong to say there weren’t enough flags a-flyin’ on the big days.

"I, and my neighbors on both sides, have flown the flag in front of our houses every day, year after year," said one Remsen Avenue home owner, "and we never got a letter from Seddio!" This angry resident was joined by a chorus of others who said, essentially, they are — and have always been — loyal, flag-flying Americans.

Well, I apologize if I gave the impression Seddio sent a letter to every home flying the flag. I’m sure, in his very personal way, he cited just those he saw. He was astute enough to feel his constituents would understand that he couldn’t get to everyone (he’s only human, y’know). By the same token, I’m sure I missed many, many areas where flags were all over the place.

Then, of course, there were a couple of calls similar to the letter we published last week from a person who called himself "Brooklyn Born," and said I, Fiorenze and Seddio have our heads in the sand, not recognizing the fact that "the majority of residents who currently live within Canarsie are in all likelihood foreign born" and don’t celebrate Memorial Day and Independence Day. He said he loves this country but will never again fly or salute a flag because he "left my patriotism on the battlefields of Southeast Asia, along with several buddies."

I’m not going to go tit-for-tat with Brooklyn Born except to say I too was on those same battlefields but left there with my patriotism intact. Diminished, to a degree, perhaps, but still there.

I must admit, though, that I agree with him when he says the days of "Little Old Canarsie" are gone. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist mentality to expect things to remain the same, after all.

But maybe with a nudge from the Fiorenzes and a friendly community newspaper and the Seddios, etc., some of our neighbors will get the hint and post the flag on their lawn on the next national holiday.

P.S. To the picky-picky reader who shamed me by mentioning my misuse of the word "amount" as opposed to the word "number," I appreciate your concern and expertise. Sorry about that, but, uh, get a life!